©Courtesy of Apple TV+, The Studio

Ike Barinholtz is reportedly being considered to play the role of entrepreneur Elon Musk in Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming film Artificial being produced by Amazon MGM Studios.
The screenplay, being written by Simon Rich, takes viewers behind the scenes to examine OpenAI’s ethical compromises and personal rivalries. Rich, who will also co-produce Artificial, had earlier penned the script for An American Pickle.

Artificial has been described as a “comedic drama set in the world of artificial intelligence.” It will train its lens on OpenAI, the company that has given the world the popular ChatGPT bot. OpenAI was founded by zillioinaire Elon Musk, of Tesla, Neuralink, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) who was also tasked by Donald Trump to slash the federal budget via DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. After starting OpenAI, Musk got embroiled in disputes with his business partner, CEO Sam Altman, who is reportedly going to be played by Andrew Garfield. It’s been speculated, however, that Musk’s role in Artificial will be little more than a cameo appearance.

 

Barinholtz was recently nominated for an Emmy for his role in the Apple TV+ series The Studio. He has also appeared in Blockers and Neighbors, and in the television productions of Eastbound & Down, The Mindy Project, and The Afterparty.

Guadagnino’s latest project had been Queer, the acclaimed film based on a novel by William S. Burroughs. This is not the first time the Italian director has worked with Amazon MGM. Other of their collaborations have included Suspiria in 2018, Bones and All in 2022, and Challengers in 2024, as well as his upcoming film After the Hunt. Starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Avo Edebiri, After the Hunt is slated to debut at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

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